The Lincoln Memorial

Lesson Plan - Get It!

Audio:

The Lincoln Memorial was made in honor of the United States of America's sixteenth president, Abraham Lincoln.

The Lincoln Memorial is located in Potomac Park in Washington, D.C.

Henry Bacon designed the Lincoln Memorial. The construction began in the year 1914.

The building has thirty-six columns. This represents the thirty-six states of the Union during the Civil War. These large columns were made out of limestone from Indiana. The building itself is made out of marble from Colorado.

Daniel Chester French sculpted Lincoln's statue. Lincoln's statue sits inside of the building.

His statue is made of marble, too. The marble for Lincoln's statue came from Georgia.

On May 30^th, 1992, the Lincoln Memorial was finally finished!

• Can you use subtraction to figure out how many years it took to finish the Lincoln Memorial?

• Were you able to figure out that it took 78 years to finish the memorial?

That's a long time!

This incredible monument was made to honor Abraham Lincoln. He is responsible for spreading freedom throughout the United States of America.

He abolished slavery because he believed all people should be treated equally, regardless of race. Thanks to him, people were no longer allowed to have slaves, and all people were free.

This statue is famous for other reasons too.

• Did you know Martin Luther King Jr. made his famous "I Have a Dream" speech in front of the Lincoln Memorial?

He gave his speech on the landing which was just eighteen steps below the memorial. If you visit the Lincoln Memorial, you can see an inscription (carving) where Martin Luther King Jr. stood during his iconic speech.

Washington, D.C., is a busy place! Every year, the Lincoln Memorial gets more than six million visitors! This memorial is the most popular memorial in the city.

• Would you like to take a closer look at the memorial?

Take out a penny and look on the back! There you can see the Lincoln Memorial. On the front of the penny is president Abraham Lincoln.

If you look at the back of a five-dollar bill with a magnifying glass, you will see some interesting words between the columns.

• What do you see?

You learned some interesting facts about Abraham Lincoln and the Lincoln Memorial.

• Would you like to see the Lincoln Memorial in person one day?

State out loud two facts you learned. Then, move on to the Got It? section.